Common wisdom says, “Whoever has the money is the boss and calls the shots.”

So, when you’re working with a client, that would mean the client is the boss. They have the money.

Hold that thought.

Now think of the last time you went to a lawyer, doctor, or dentist. You’re the one paying, so that would make you the boss. But that’s not quite true, is it?

They will make strong recommendations for what they propose to do. You can always say no, but if you say yes, they’re doing it their way.

Why is that? Simply, because they’re professionals, they have more experience, and they know better than you do.

Are You a Professional or a Servant?

No one wants to admit to being a servant. But, in the communications field, we often behave like one:

We make client-directed changes that we know aren’t helpful
The client’s revisions turn our sleek racehorses into clumsy camels, and we go along with them
They ignore our payment terms and we accept it

How do you change that kind of behavior? Often all it takes is a shift in attitude and the proper start to a project.

It’s Critical to Start Your Assignments Correctly

Let’s say the client sends you a project brief and asks you to come back with an estimate.

You have questions about the brief, the client sends back answers, and you’re on your way.

Assuming this project is similar to other projects you’ve done, you know how you’re going to do this, and you write the estimate.

This is where you establish your professionalism by asserting control over how the project will proceed and how you expect to get paid.

Yes, the client has the money and therefore ultimate control of whether or not you get the project. But you’re the boss of how you would deliver the job.

Establish Your Professionalism by Defining and Limiting the Project

Your estimate is similar to a legal contract. It should outline:

How you’ll do the project
What you need from the client
What’s included and what isn’t
What it costs
How and when you get paid

Be sure to define the project in adequate detail. If it’s a larger project with phases, outline the phases.

If you need client approval before moving from one stage to the next (rough layouts to final layouts, for example), include it in your estimate. It will affect your timeline for delivery.

Learn how you can charge more for your freelance projects here.

How do you limit a project? Start by specifying how many initial options you’ll deliver.

In some cases, it may only be one, but for example, if you’re designing a logo, you’ll probably show numerous options at different stages. How many? Be specific in your estimate.

Include limits for revisions. Too many creatives get caught here and find themselves doing endless revisions without getting paid. A two-week project turns into two months of minor changes.

You’ll want to create your own “legal” terminology around this, but for us, this worked:

“Includes up to two rounds of revisions. Further revisions, if necessary, will be estimated before proceeding.”

Notice it says “up to two rounds”. If there were fewer rounds, we didn’t reduce the price.

Also, if the client was about to go into the second round of revisions, we would remind them that this round was included, but further revisions would cost more.

We encouraged them to gather up everything so that we could complete it in one final round.

Limit a Project with a Deadline

Often a client will have a deadline in mind. Your project may be part of a bigger launch, and everything has to be done by date X.

If it’s reasonable and you’re confident you can deliver on time, then having a deadline is to your advantage. It keeps everyone focused.

In your initial conversations, you should ask about a deadline. What if the client says they don’t have one? That’s a warning sign.

No deadline means it’s not a priority. These types of projects often slip and go on forever. It’s not how you want to work.

If they don’t have a deadline, you should suggest one. Let the client know that for this type of project, you need about X days or weeks, and expect to be able to deliver by a specific date.

Tell them it’s not efficient for either of you if the project drags on. Get them to agree to a date and put it into the estimate. Formalize the process for meeting that date.

The All-Important Payment Terms

Asking for money is what often separates professionals from the rest.

Have you ever hired a lawyer? In the first meeting, once the lawyer understands what’s required, they will simply say something like, “I’ll need a deposit of $5,000 to start.”

They don’t waste any time with further meetings or any back and forth. It’s understood that they need to get a real commitment before starting, and everything from then on is “on the clock”, and you’re paying for it.

So, what are your payment terms? Ideally, like a lawyer, you should be asking for a deposit. How much? I’ve heard everything from 25% to 100%.

For a more significant project, it might be 33% upfront, 33% at a key deliverable stage halfway through, and the final 34% at completion.

On Twitter, I asked freelancers how they got deposits from clients. Read and learn.

Smaller projects might be 50% to begin, the rest upon completion. Don’t cut it up into too many pieces. Every payment means you have to issue an invoice, and the client issues payment. It becomes a lot of admin.

What if the Client Won’t Accept Your Payment Terms?

The client says, “We can’t issue any payment until the project is done.” Now what?

This can be a hard decision. However, it could also be a huge red flag. If you back down now, they will push you on everything else throughout the project.

Everyone recognizes that getting paid is important, and it’s an indicator of how you work.

If you said you wouldn’t pay the deposit to the lawyer, the lawyer would declare the meeting over. My way or the highway. Bye, bye…

So, be a professional. Determine your payment terms and stick to them. Read the road signs. Learn to walk away. If they really want to work with you, they’ll figure out how to pay you according to your terms.

A Pro Tip on Payment Terms: I’ve heard many creatives say that they ask for a deposit from new clients, but after that, they relax the terms and let clients pay everything upon completion. Why?

Why not establish your payment terms and keep them forever? Better for your cash flow if the money is in your bank account rather than theirs.

Besides, after the first project, the client assumes this is how you work, so keep working that way.

The key lesson here is that you have to get comfortable talking about money. It’s part of being a professional.

Specify What Isn’t Included

It often makes sense to specify what isn’t included in a project, just for clarity. Let’s say you’re designing and building a website.

The client may supply product images, but they’ll also need some lifestyle images, which they currently don’t have.

Are you sourcing stock images, hiring a photographer to create new images, or expecting the client to find some? Be specific and outline any associated costs.

And what about those product shots? Are they retouched and optimized for the web, or will you have to edit each one?

“What’s not included” comes up quite often in projects, generally because the client hasn’t thought it through.

Everything from web hosting, costs for web plug-ins, finding an expert to get a key quote for an article… it’s up to you to bring it to their attention.

It avoids awkward future conversations, “Oh, I thought that was included.” And you’re wondering, “Why would you think that?” Be specific. Bring it up early to protect yourself.

Let’s Kill Imposter Syndrome Once and For All

All this talk about professionalism quickly brings imposter syndrome to the surface.

Am I really a professional? Sometimes I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing.

Do we have to talk about money? It makes me uncomfortable and feels slimy.

I hate saying no to people, but I don’t want to be a pushover either. What should I do?

The simple answers are:

We all feel imposter syndrome at some time. It’s part of doing something new.
No one is comfortable asking for money
Everyone wants to say yes rather than no

It comes down to practice. Do anything a few times, and you’ll be confident you can do it again. That includes coming up with new ideas, asking for money, and saying no to unreasonable requests.

As a professional, you have to look out for yourself. Be in control of your work. Be the boss of your business.

Learn more about running your business like a professional in my book, How to Start a Successful Creative Agency. It’s the essential business guide for graphic designers, copywriters, filmmakers, photographers, and programmers.

Buy Your Book Here

Over 300 pages and 23 chapters, available at Amazon (Paper & Kindle), Kobo (ebook), Apple Books (ebook), and Gumroad (PDF).

The book is packed with useful information to help creatives start and grow their business.

“Lots of Useful Advice”

“I read this book, and I recommend it to anyone who’s thinking about upgrading a freelancer life to an agency. Lots of useful advice. I wish I had this book before launching http://freshvanroot.agency.”

Rolf Mistelbacher, Founder & CEO, Fresh Van Root

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This chapter covers essential areas such as Clients vs. Projects, Corporate Clients vs. Small Business Clients, How to Create an Opportunity Document, Benefits of Finding a Niche… and much more.

Questions? On Twitter, I’m @StroteBook. D.M.s are always open. Ask away.

Who’s the Boss? The Freelancer or the Client?